Old Dunhill vs. New Dunhill: the Briar, Sandblast, and Mouthpiece Debate

The comparison between old Dunhill and new Dunhill is one of the longest-running debates in briar pipe collecting. The claim's essence is simple: pipes bearing early stamps are said to have been made of better wood, and later generations are said not to have reached the same level.

The classic text on the subject is the comparison collector and dealer R.D. Field published in Pipe Smoker magazine in the fall of 1983; rather than simply relaying the community's received wisdom, Field addresses the subject by laying out what actually changed in production and when. Over the more than four decades since, the debate hasn't closed.

The Collector's Three Periods

Collectors divide production roughly into three periods. Pipes with a patent number on the shank are considered the "patent era"; records show this practice began in 1905, ended in 1954, and patent numbers weren't used on pipes made after 1955. The second period runs 1955-1968, the third from 1968 onward. On the secondary (estate) market, interest in patent-era examples has always exceeded that shown toward the other two periods. That stamps carry this much weight also explains why detailed Dunhill dating guides have grown into a literature of their own.